Comrade Superman

Superman: Red Son by Mark Millar asks the simple question of what would have happened if Superman landed in Stalin's Russia instead of the US of A. The intelligent story and great art make this graphic novel a wonderful read that will leave you thinking once you've put it down.

After Stalin's death Superman (the other Man of Steel) takes power and eventually every country except the USA have joined his global empire. Local dissidents led by Batman, and President Luthor are the only people willing to oppose a tyrant who can see through walls and travel anywhere in seconds.

The book is an interesting riff on the role of superheroes and power in the world. Even when someone thinks they are doing the best for their country, they may in fact be making things worse. Well worth reading.

A Death

I recently re-read The Death of Superman and it reminded me of what a big deal it was. Sure superheros had died before, but here was the first, and greatest, dead.

The story itself is not to bad, Superman sacrifices himself to protect Metropolis from Doomsday, after the JLA are swept aside by this new foe.

News services around the world reported about the death of Superman, and no comic event since has generated this amount of interest. One of the most recognisable icons in the world was dead.

Of course he came back, three days later in fact, highlighting the similarities with the Christ story.

Have a look and see that heroes can die.